Reach The Soul, Break The Chain
by Phanstarlight
Summary: 'Nico's sword slipped from his hand and he lost balance and fell forward. Instantly, Percy dropped his own sword and haphazardly caught Nico in his arms' Something was wrong with Nico and Percy decided it was his job to look after him, even if neither of them was consciously aware of that decision at first. Sort of AU, eventual Percico. Bit of angst, bit of fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**I have had this idea in my head for years now but I've only just managed to type the words out. Hopefully, this fic will be updated every Friday. Obviously, I do not own any of the rights to Percy Jackson or any of Rick R** **iordan works. Enjoy!**

It all started when Percy accidentally almost killed Nico.

The sun was shining brightly down on Camp Half-Blood; not too hot but just a perfect summers day. Some Apollo kids were laughing by the trees, a few Aphrodite kids were giggling to each other outside their cabin, a couple of Ares kids were arguing with a couple of Athena kids. All in all, it was a pretty normal day. The sound of metal-on-metal rang through the air as two swords hit against each other. The son of Poseidon and the son of Hades skillfully attacked and counter-attacked each other on the training ground. They had been doing so for almost half an hour now and they were gaining quite an audience.

"Tired yet, Nico?"

"In your dreams, Percy"

The two continued to spar together until almost the entire camp had gathered to watch them. Percy was so focused on not letting Nico hit him that he almost missed the strained look on his friend's face.

"You okay?" Percy asked warily, defending himself from a stab Nico threw at him which Percy suddenly noticed was a lot messier than usual.

"Yeah. I'm fine" Nico said through gritted teeth and continued swinging his sword.

"No you're not, we can stop if you want-"

"Shut up, Percy. I'm fine! Now, are you just going to stand there and defend yourself or are you actually going to train with me?"

Percy rolled his eyes at his friend's stubbornness and continued to defend himself from Nico's attacks. They continued like this for a few more moments before Percy saw an opening in Nico's defence and lunged forward. That was his first big mistake. At the exact same moment Percy lunged, Nico's sword slipped from his hand and he lost balance and fell forward. Instantly, Percy dropped his own sword and haphazardly caught Nico in his arms. But because of the suddenness, the son of Poseidon didn't have time to brace himself which caused him to fall backwards and land on his back with Nico falling on top of him. The first thought racing through Percy's mind was that he had accidentally stabbed Nico but after several moments of panic and looking over his friend's body, there appeared to be no blood. However, Nico was almost unconscious and sweat was pouring off his face. The crowd they had made inched forward slightly but no one moved to get help.

"Someone go and get Chiron" Percy demanded, still no one moved "Now!"

Shouting finally seemed to get people in motion and several campers ran off to try and get help. At the same time, a few Apollo kids step towards Percy and Nico. Percy looked up with grateful eyes as they gave the son of Hades a quick check over and breathed a sigh of relief when they informed him that he had not harmed his friend. The unmistakable sound of Chiron hooves pounded up behind them but Percy didn't move, his focus fixed on the boy on his lap. The only reason he released his arms from around Nico was so that Chiron could get a proper look at the damage. After a few agonisingly long moments of silence, Percy looked up at his mentor to see a grave look on his face.

"He's still alive. He's breathing, but barely. And no, Percy did not stab him" Chiron announced to the crowd. "However, he is in the worst condition possible for his situation. He must be brought to the Big House immediately"

Without another word the centaur quickly turned and left, leaving the group of campers slightly dazed. Percy shook off his shock and before he really knew what he was doing, he picked Nico up in his arms and began walking after Chiron. The sweat dripping off his friend's face combined with how horribly light he was caused Percy's heart beat to quicken. How long had Nico been like this? Had he been hiding this from Percy all this time? What kind of terrible friend was he for not noticing Nico's state sooner?

"It's okay, I've got you now" Percy whispered. He wasn't really sure why he said anything since it was highly unlikely that Nico could actually hear him. But nonetheless, he continued whispering words of comfort until he reached the Big House. He managed to stumble through the door before laying Nico down on the couch in the middle of the room.

"How is he really?" Percy asked cautiously, as he had a feeling Chiron hadn't told them everything yet.

"In truth... he's almost dead" Chiron said quietly. Percy's breath hitched in his throat but he swallowed hard and took a few slow breaths before speaking.

"Will he be okay?" Percy cursed the tremor in his voice but his mentor seemed to understand and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"He will need serious care and attention and the process may take quite some time. But if we start now he should pull through" he said in a softer tone. Percy was so relieved that he would have almost fallen over backwards if he hadn't steadied himself against the couch first.

"Is there anything I can do?" Percy asked, his eyes fixed on Nico's face. He didn't look even vaguely okay but at least the pain seemed to have stopped.

"Not much for now. He'll need plenty of rest and constant watch. And while I would be fully willing to watch over him, I have a feeling that trying to remove you from his side would be a nearly impossible task" Chiron allowed a fond smile to brush over his features as he looked at Percy's surprised yet also slightly relieved expression. The centaur quickly instructed Percy to take Nico to the back of the house and lay him down on a bed before he went back outside. Percy gently lifted up his friend again and slowly carried him through the house until he found the room. It was quite a small room with a double bed against the left wall, a door to a small bathroom, a very old looking TV on the wall and an armchair in the corner. It seemed clean but it looked as though it hadn't be used in a very long time. Just as he set Nico down on the bed, his eyes began to open.

"Percy?" Nico asked weakly, his voice strained. Despite himself, Percy smiled at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Hey there" Percy said softly. A few moments of silence passed between them as Nico adjusted himself into a more comfortable position and Percy pulled the armchair from the corner over to the bed.

"What happened?" Nico finally asked.

"Long story short; you collapsed, everyone thought I stabbed you, turns out I didn't stab you, you're far too skinny and you've worked yourself too hard so now you have to stay here until you get better" Percy told him, raising an eyebrow. Nico looked away, an ashamed look on his face.

"You should have told me" Percy said in a quieter tone, leaning forward and turning Nico's head back to face him.

"I didn't know how to" Nico said barely louder than a whisper, his eyes still not meeting his friend's.

"Well, all that matters now is that you're going to be okay. Chiron said you'll need a lot of rest and you should be watched closely"

"And let me guess, you're going to be doing the watching?" Nico asked teasingly even though Percy guessed he probably already knew the answer as a smile found it's way to his lips. Slowly Percy nodded and Nico's smile grew a little wider.

"You should get some rest" Percy suddenly stood up and pulled the duvet up Nico's body. Nico knew it was kind of odd but he found it almost sweet that Percy wanted to take care of him so badly. So he allowed himself to be tucked in like a child just this once and drifted off into a peaceful sleep with the knowledge that he was safe as long as Percy was watching over him.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico awoke to the smell of cooking bacon drifting into the room. He blinked himself awake and took a few moments to remember where he was. His eyes scanned the room to find that Percy was nowhere in sight. Confused, Nico was about to call out until a noise hit his ears that he couldn't help but smile at- Percy singing. Nico immediately relaxed back into the mattress at the sound of Percy's surprisingly good voice. He couldn't quite pick out the words but the melody itself was something Nico thought he recognised. The soft, gentle notes quickly lulled him back to sleep. He was awoken again by Percy lightly shaking his arm.

"I made breakfast" Percy announced as he slid a tray onto Nico's lap.

"Thanks" Nico mumbled with a smile. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a while as they ate. After a while, Nico tried to say something but before he could start, the door opened and Chiron entered the room.

"I'm glad to see you're eating well" Chiron smiled, nodding towards the trays of food on the bed.

"It's the first proper meal I've had in weeks" Nico admitted, lowering his head so he wouldn't have to look at the disappointed expression on Percy's face.

"I just came to tell you that you've both been allowed permission to be excused from all activities for the next few weeks," Chiron told them before offering them one last smile and leaving the room. Percy watched as the door closed before standing up.

"Everything happened very suddenly yesterday, so I should probably go and get some of our stuff from our cabins and bring it over here. It seems like we're going to be living here for a while" Percy stated.

"I'm sorry" Nico apologised.

"I don't mind" Percy grinned as he walked out the door, leaving Nico to wonder what he really meant by that. Percy walked away from the Big House and towards his cabin with a slight spring in his step. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so happy about the situation he and Nico were in, but he seemed to be happy about it nonetheless.

"Hey, Percy!" a voice called and Percy turned to see Jason jogging over to him.

"Hi" Percy smiled, stopping to let his friend catch up with him.

"I heard about what happened to Nico yesterday. Is he okay?" Jason asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine, I'm going to make sure of that" Percy reassured him and Jason visibly relaxed "You can go see him if you want, I was just going to get some stuff from our cabins so I might be while"

Percy gave Jason a final smile before making his way down towards the Poseidon and Hades' cabins. Jason looked back towards the Big House and considered going to see Nico. But he eventually decided against it. Nico and Percy were finally getting to spend a lot of time together- despite it not being for the best of reasons- and Jason knew that was something he needed to leave alone. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes but, with no small amount of luck, maybe something would finally happen between them. Smiling to himself at the thought, Jason turned and walked away from the Big House.

Across the camp, Percy entered his cabin, quickly gathered up everything he thought he might need and stuffed it into a backpack he found laying in the corner. Within minutes he slung the bag over his shoulder and made his way towards the Hades cabin. He hesitated slightly before entering his friend's cabin, feeling a little awkward at invading Nico's private space. He picked out a few sets of clothes from the draws, some pyjamas, underwear Batman boxers? Really, Nico?, and the pair of slippers that he found sat by the bed. Hoping he had everything- but even if he didn't, it wasn't like he had to go very far to go get it- Percy left the cabin, shut the door behind him, and headed back towards the Big House.

"Honey, I'm home" Percy called out jokingly as he entered the room he and Nico were staying in. Percy saw Nico rolling his eyes at him but he still caught the smile on his lips nonetheless. He put his bag down on the floor by the door before taking Nico's belongings over to him.

"I wasn't sure what to pack, so I just sort of guessed" Percy explained as Nico rummaged through the pile to make sure everything was there. After seeing pretty much everything he needed was there, Nico grabbed a new set of clothes and went to the bathroom to get changed. Once he stepped back out, Percy could already see that he looked a little better. Nico sat back down on the edge of the bed but as Percy turned around, he noticed a troubled look on his friend's face.

"What's wrong?" Percy instantly asked.

"I just wanted to thank you, I guess" Nico said quietly, looking down at his feet.

"What for?" Percy tilted his head in confusion.

"Looking after me" Nico slowly lifted his head to see Percy smiling at him.

"It's the least I can do," Percy said softly. The two of them sat there in silence for a moment, smiling at each other, and Nico began to realise how lucky he was to have a friend like Percy.

Over the next few days, Percy and Nico built up some kind of routine and Percy was already noticing improvements in Nico's health; his skin was beginning to regain its usual olive glow, he was eating proper sized meals, he smiled and laughed a little more frequently (though it was often at Percy's expense, not that he minded anyway). But despite the progress, Nico still struggled to sleep through the night; nightmares haunted him every time he tried to shut his eyes. Most nights he managed to not disturb Percy and keep everything to himself. But this night was different.

Percy was jolted awake at the sound of his own name. The scream echoed slightly in the otherwise silent room and in his semi-conscious state it took him a moment to realise it was Nico who had shouted out his name. He turned to see his friend sat bolt upright in bed, his whole body shaking, and his eyes wide with fear.

"Nico?" he whispered carefully and Nico's head whipped around to stare at him "What's wrong?"

At those words, Nico did something Percy would never have expected- he started to cry. Instantly, Percy was on his feet; he climbed out of the armchair and onto the bed next to Nico. He pulled Nico towards him and wrapped his arms around him in a protective hug. Nico fell into his hold and gripped the fabric of Percy's t-shirt as though his very life depended on it, which further surprised and worried Percy.

"It's okay, I'm here" Percy whispered soothingly. Once Nico had calmed down a little, Percy gripped his shoulders and gently pulled him up to face him.

"You're okay?" Nico whispered shakily.

"Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" Percy frowned. Nico was silent for a while before he answered.

"You died. In my nightmare, you died right in front of me and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't save you" Nico admitted, his face paling with fear as he remembered what had happened. Slowly, to prevent startling his friend, Percy reached out and took Nico's hand in his and pulled it to his chest.

"You feel that? That's my heartbeat. I'm still here and very much alive" Percy said softly.

"Could you..." Nico started to say but then trailed off, looking away to try and hide his embarrassment at what he wanted to ask.

"What is it?" Percy asked gently.

"Could you sleep with me tonight?" Nico asked quietly as he slowly looked back up at Percy again. Percy was quite taken aback, although it was more from Nico's vulnerability than the request itself. He stared at him in stunned silence for a moment before shaking himself back to his senses.

"Of course" Percy smiled.

"Really?" Nico asked, surprised at the apparent ease of Percy's answer. Percy didn't say anything as he slid off the side of the bed and pulled the covers back. Nico shuffled over and Percy slipped in beside him, pulling the covers up over them both. He gave Nico a moment to settle himself more comfortably then rolled over to face him.

"I'm always going to be here" Percy promised him quietly, opening out an inviting arm. If Percy noticed the speed and ease to which Nico accepted his embrace and relaxed against his body, he decided not to comment on it. Focusing on the gentle breathing and strong heartbeat of the man beside him, Nico was lulled back into a comforting sleep within minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Nico awoke, he felt something was different. The bed was warmer than usual and a strange sense of calm had washed over him. He tried to sit up but found that something was keeping him in place. He looked down to see a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and suddenly the events of the previous night came back to him. Despite himself, Nico found that he was blushing as he felt Percy's body pressed up against his own. He felt warm and safe in Percy's arms. He sighed happily, letting his body sink back comfortably against Percy's.

"Good morning" Percy mumbled sleepily against Nico's shoulder. Nico tensed for a moment before smiling to himself.

"Morning" Nico replied quietly.

"How did you sleep?" Percy asked, still not moving his arms from around Nico's waist.

"Better than I've slept in a while" Nico admitted sheepishly, causing Percy to smile.

"Me too" Percy said, moving to rest his chin on Nico's shoulder.

"We should get up" Nico said after a moment of silence. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to stay curled up with Percy for the rest of the day but he knew they would have to move at some point. Percy seemed slightly crestfallen, which made Nico's heart flutter a little, but he removed his arms from Nico's waist and sat up nonetheless.

"I suppose you're right" Percy sighed. He went to get up but paused when he saw Nico's face turn red. He followed his eye line to a bottle sat on the bedside table with a note underneath it.

 _This is something I mixed up to help with Nico's recovery. It's made with Nectar but it's not as strong, so he can have more regular doses of it._

 _Sweet dreams,_

 _Chiron_

Percy's cheeks also tinged pink at seeing the message, although not as much as Nico. To break the tension, Percy stood, went over to the bottle, and poured out a dose.

"Open wide" Percy cooed teasingly, waving the spoon towards Nico's face.

"I can do that myself, you know" Nico sighed and rolled his eyes. But he opened his mouth nonetheless. Then immediately made a face at the taste of the medicine.

"That's disgusting" Nico spat as he forced himself to swallow it. Percy laughed at his expression before saying something about making breakfast.

* * *

Another two weeks passed by. Everything seemed to be going fine from Percy's perspective. But from Nico's, not so much. In truth, Percy was beginning to irritate Nico. Ever since that night Nico had woken Percy with his nightmare, Percy seemed to be even more protective of him than usual. He had been fine with it at first, even going as far as to think it was cute, but now it was just plain annoying. Percy would hover about Nico constantly, even when Nico was doing nothing more than sitting and reading a book. He would flitter around him anxiously and it seemed that he was never allowed to leave Percy's sight for longer than it took him to go to the bathroom. At least Percy still let him do _that_ by himself.

Currently, Nico was trying to wash the dishes- he had started feeling little useless, so he decided he needed to help out somehow. But Percy was awkwardly pacing back and forth behind him, nervously twiddling his thumbs as if Nico was walking a tightrope or something.

"Can you stop doing that?" Nico sighed, putting down the plate he was holding and throwing the tea towel on top of it.

"Doing what?" Percy asked innocently, which only annoyed Nico further.

"This!" Nico vaguely waved around them "Hovering over me all the time like I might break at any minute"

"I just want to make sure you're okay" Percy said truthfully, reaching out a hand towards Nico. But Nico backed away, a scowl on his face.

"I can stand on my own two feet, thanks. I survived a long time without you or anyone else, what makes you think I suddenly need your help now?" Nico snapped and Percy stared at him in shocked silence. Deep down, Percy knew that Nico had perfectly reasonable grounds to say something like that. But that still didn't stop it from hurting. Nico turned away from him and began to walk away but suddenly a burst of anger ripped through Percy. Against his better judgement, he acted upon that anger.

"Gods, why do you always do this?" Percy sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Do what?" Nico spun back around the face him.

"You act like you don't want or need anyone's help even when you do" Percy explained.

"I don't need your help!" Nico argued, crossing his arms against his chest.

"But I want to help you" Percy urged but Nico just scoffed at him.

"When have you ever wanted to help _me_? When have you ever wanted to help anyone? The only thing you ever do is help yourself"

"Is that really what you think of me?" Percy stepped back, casting his gaze to the floor. He knew Nico had never really liked him but was that truly the reason why?

"You don't care about me, no one does"

"Just stop doing this!" Percy pleaded, lifting his head to look at Nico again.

"Why? Why should I stop? The last time I checked, you only started caring about me when I collapsed and everyone thought you stabbed me" Nico snapped, glaring at Percy.

"I've always cared about you" Percy promised, trying to keep his voice level.

"That's a lie and you know it"

"I'm not lying; I'd never lie to you. If anything, you're the one who doesn't care" Percy quipped, finally letting his anger slip into his voice.

"Why should I care? What's left for me to care about?" Nico fumed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Stop it! Stop doing this! You're so selfish when you do this, you know?" Percy yelled, his hands forming fists by his sides.

"Well if I annoy you so much, why don't you just leave?!" Nico yelled back and Percy's whole body froze. Silence filled the room as neither of them did or said anything.

"Fine, if that's what you want. I'll go" Percy said quietly. Without looking at Nico he walked over to the door, pulled it open, paused for a second then left, slamming the door behind him. He completely missed the look of regret on Nico's face and the way he flinched as the door slammed shut.


	4. Chapter 4

Annabeth stared in confusion as she watched Percy slam the door to the Big House behind him and storm away from the building. She looked between her friend and the House for a moment before choosing to go after Percy. She followed him at a distance for a while, trying to see where he was going. As she had been expecting, Percy was heading towards the shore. She waited behind a tree for a few minutes, watching him pace back and forth. Finally he sat himself down, looking out towards the ocean. Annabeth thought this would be a good time to approach him, so she stepped out from her hiding spot and walked towards him.

"Percy?" she called out so that she wouldn't startle him. He didn't say anything but he did give her a glance of acknowledgement when she reached him. She took that as permission that she could stay and sat down on the ground beside him. They sat in silence for a while, both watching the waves lap at the sand.

"Is everything alright?" Annabeth finally ventured, cautiously turning to Percy to gauge his reaction. Percy said nothing but Annabeth saw his hands nervously twitching in his lap.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked softly. She hoped her tone would reassure him that he could still tell her anything- she would always remain his friend, if nothing else.

"Nico being Nico, I suppose" Percy replied with a sigh, running a hand through his hair and finally turning to look at her. She nodded slowly, signalling for him to continue.

"He thinks he doesn't want anyone's help but he can't see that he does. I just... I want him to be okay" Percy continued, putting his head in his hands.

"I know you do" Annabeth smiled softly, putting a comforting hand on Percy's shoulder. Several moments of silence followed before Annabeth sighed to herself and stood up. She wanted to stay with Percy but she could tell that he wanted to be left alone. As she was walking back to her cabin, she caught sight of Jason.

"Hey, Jason!" she called out, waving to him. He looked up and smiled when he saw who had called out to him and he quickly jogged over to her.

"What's up?" Jason greeted with a smile. But that smile soon faded when he saw the concerned expression on his friend's face.

"I think Percy and Nico had some kind of argument and now they're not speaking to each other" Annabeth said, biting her lip nervously.

"What, really?" Jason asked in shock. The two of them had seemed fine last time he saw them.

"Yeah, I think so at least. I just spoke to Percy and I was wondering if you could go and check up on Nico. Apart from Percy, you're the closest person to him" Annabeth suggested and Jason nodded his head.

"I'll go see if he's alright" Jason promised. Annabeth smiled at him then turned and walked away. Jason looked over at the Big House before he took a deep breath and walked over towards the building. He awkwardly peered inside to find no one in the main room. It occurred to him that he didn't actually know where Nico would be. So, instead of going to ask someone, he decided to just keep wandering around until he found him. It took him a while but eventually, he heard movement inside a room near the back of the house as he walked past. Cautiously, Jason knocked on the door. But no answer came.

"Nico?" Jason called out, knocking on the door again "Are you in there?"

"Leave me alone!" Nico's muffled voice shouted through the door.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay" Jason said, both relieved that he had found Nico and worried for his friend.

"I said leave me alone" Nico replied, his voice growing louder. Jason sighed to himself and began to turn away. But just as he moved, he heard a faint sniff from Nico's room. He listened closer and he realised what he was hearing was sobbing; Nico was crying. Now more than anything, Jason wanted to go into the room and comfort his friend. But he knew that could only end up making things worse. Especially since it was Nico. So, against the will of his heart, Jason turned away from the door and left.

On the other side of the door, Nico sighed to himself as the tears continued to fall down his cheeks. He knew it was partly his fault for getting so angry at Percy, but that still didn't make it hurt any less. Until now, he hadn't realised how much he really did need Percy. Now that he had gone, Nico was beginning to see just how right he was- Nico did need help and now there was no one there to do it. As the sun dipped down and under the horizon, Nico found himself laying in bed and feeling strangely lonely without Percy sleeping beside him. Once he rolled onto his side, he found himself coming to a very bittersweet conclusion. As much as his pride didn't want him to admit it, Nico missed Percy. He missed him a lot.

But Percy also missed Nico. Once he finally moved from his place by the shore when the heat of the sun had left and the heightened wind bit coldly at his bare skin, he had almost gone back to the Big House. But half way there, he froze in his tracks. Letting guilt and anxiety take over, his legs steered him back towards his own cabin instead. As he walked inside, it seemed to feel colder than usual. Sighing quietly to himself, Percy crawled into his bed and pulled the covered over him. The room felt rather empty without Nico anywhere in sight. Rolling over onto his side, he shut his eyes tight and fell silent.

And so the two of them lay alone in their beds, unknowingly facing in each other's direction. Needless to say, neither one of them got much sleep that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sadly, this is the final chapter of this story. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it :)**

Percy tried to convince himself that it would all be fine and that there was no need to worry. But that still didn't stop his heart from racing as he walked towards the Big House. He even had an entire speech planned out in his head- he knew it would go completely out the window as soon as he stepped into the room, but it's the thought that counts, right?

He was relieved when he walked into the Big House to find no one standing in the main room. Whether that was intentional or pure coincidence Percy couldn't tell, but he was thankful for it regardless. He walked through the building but came to a sudden halt when he reached the door to the room Nico was staying in. Percy opened the door as quietly as he could and peered inside the room to see Nico laying on the bed facing away from the door. Percy called his name but got no reply so he stepped fully into the room, shut the door behind him, and walked towards his friend. He stirred slightly but made no attempt to get up so Percy assumed he was still asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed to himself.

"I'm sorry" Percy whispered. He knew his friend couldn't hear him but he also knew that if he didn't say this now, he never would.

"I didn't want things to go this way. I was just so worried about you. You'd let yourself get into such a bad state before and I didn't want that to happen again. I wanted you to trust me; to tell me how you were really feeling, to talk to me if anything was wrong. I know you've never been the type of person who finds it easy to be close to other people, especially me. But, if I can help it, I want that to change. I want you to feel safe with me and to know that you really can tell me anything. I... I want you to know that I care about you, more than I've ever cared about anyone else"

"You really mean that?" Nico whispered hopefully, rolling over to face Percy whose body instantly tensed.

"You were awake the whole time?" Percy partly gasped, his cheeks growing red from embarrassment.

"Yeah" Nico smiled slightly at his friend's startled expression.

"And yes, I did mean all of that" Percy answered a little more confidently.

"I'm sorry too" Nico admitted, his smile growing wider when Percy bent down and pulled him into a hug. Neither of them really wanted to let go but a knock on the door forced them to break apart.

"Come in" Nico called as he reluctantly pulled his arms away from Percy. They both looked up to see Chiron at the door, smiling over at them.

"I just came to check on Nico" he said, rolling his wheelchair closer to them. Percy stood up, if a little hesitantly, to allow Chiron to give Nico a full check over. The knot in his stomach loosened a little when Chiron began to smile.

"You're almost fully recovered" he told Nico, who sighed with relief. Chiron told the two of them that in less than a week, Nico would be completely healed. He would have stayed for longer, but he sensed that he had interrupted something when he had entered. So, he left quickly to leave them to themselves. There had been a brief, awkward silence in the air once the door had closed behind Chiron. But it was broken soon enough when Nico asked about breakfast. The two of them went down to the kitchen together to begin cooking something up, silently cementing their apologies to each other by doing so.

* * *

Three more days passed and Nico could feel that he was almost back to normal. Well, his version of normal at least. Chiron had finally allowed him to join back in with the Camp's activities, although he was instructed to stay away from anything too strenuous. He and Percy were also both allowed to return to their own cabins but Nico found he was less happy about this than he thought he would have been. He'd gotten so used to Percy being so close to him, he wasn't sure he wanted that to change. He certainly didn't want things to go back to the way they used to be between them. He wouldn't be able to face himself if that happened.

The rest of his friends were overjoyed with his recovery, many of them travelling over from Camp Jupiter to check up on him. There was also a celebratory dinner. Well, it wasn't strictly speaking a celebration for his recovery but everyone seemed to be paying a lot more attention to him than usual. Nico wasn't quite sure whether he was pleased about that or not. They sat together, eating and catching up with one another. But then suddenly, Nico noticed that someone rather important was missing.

"Hey, has anyone seen Percy?" he asked his friends and every one of them shook their heads. Nico frowned as he looked around and saw no sign of the son of Posiden. He quickly finished his food, said goodbye to his friends, and went in search of Percy. His first thought was Percy's cabin. But when he got there and found no one inside, he decided to try the shore. And sure enough, Nico spotted Percy sat by himself watching the waves lap in and out.

"I thought I'd find you here" Nico called out once he got a little closer. Percy turned around to see Nico walking over to him and he smiled as he sat down beside him.

"Sorry, I was about to come see you" Percy said, though Nico didn't quite believe him.

"It's okay. What were you doing out here anyway?" Nico asked curiously.

"Just thinking, really" Percy sighed to himself, letting an oddly sad smile ghost his lips for a moment.

"It's kind of ironic that now I'm the one surrounded by attention and you're out here by yourself, away from everyone else" Nico laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood between them. It seemed to work as Percy let out a small chuckle, his eyes twinkling as he turned to look at his friend. Nico's breath caught in his throat. Unfortunately, Percy seemed to notice and his smile softened. That only caused Nico to blush and turn his head away. But instead of laughing like Nico had expected, Percy placed his hand under Nico's chin and slowly turned his head back to face him.

"Things don't have to go back to the way they used to be, do they?" Percy asked quietly. His playful cheerfulness had melted away to be replaced with a deep nervousness, yet also a glimmer of hope.

"I never want that" Nico replied, a smile spreading across his lips as relief washed over Percy.

"I have a question" Percy said, a little of the seriousness returning to his face. Nico nodded for him to continue.

"Why did you used to hate me so much?" Percy asked and Nico froze. Silence fell over the two of them as they stared at each other. Eventually, Nico sighed and looked down at his hands.

"I never hated you. Not really" Nico admitted quietly.

"Then why did you...?" Percy tilted his head curiously. A flicker of a smile made its way across Nico's features at how cute Percy looked when he did that.

"What's the opposite of hate, Percy?" Nico almost whispered, not believing that he was finally telling Percy what he had wanted to say for so long.

"Love... oh" Percy gasped, his eyes growing wide with realisation.

"It's okay if you hate me now. I'm used to being hated" Nico sighed. At those words, Percy's heart broke cleanly in two. Unable to speak, Percy gently gripped Nico's shoulders and twisted him around to face him once more. Tentatively, he slipped one of his hands into Nico's.

"Wha-?" Nico tried to say but found that he couldn't get any of his words out.

"I could never hate you" Percy whispered gently, cupping Nico's cheek with his free hand.

"How?" Nico asked, his heart racing in his chest. He still couldn't wrap his head around why Percy had never hated him even after how horrible he had been to him.

"It's very difficult to hate someone you love" Percy smiled softly as Nico's eyes grew wide.

"You mean-?"

"Yes" Percy giggled as the adrenaline rushed through his body. Nico smiled and bit his lip nervously before doing the one thing he never thought he'd be able to do. He leant forwards and pushed his lips to Percy's. He smirked proudly to himself at the squeak of surprise Percy let out before happily sinking into the kiss. Percy was sure there were probably hundreds of metaphors to describe the feeling of that kiss, but he knew not a single one of them would truly do it justice. He felt nothing but happiness and warmth as he smiled against Nico's lips, feeling Nico do the same. Eventually, Percy pulled away even more breathless than before. Neither of them said anything, but as they looked into each other's eyes they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Nico sighed contently, snuggling closer into Percy's side. Percy slipped his hand into Nico's as Nico rested his head on Percy's shoulder. And there they stayed, watching the sun dip below the horizon. One day had ended, but now a whole new adventure awaited them tomorrow.


End file.
